Any bets we'll see some ACC schools say "not so fast" to the "immediate" GoR?

My understanding from a SC newspaper, the decision was due to ESPN. ESPN was already well-established in Charlotte with major offices, studios, and the major technology needed. Charlotte is a leading southern hub, with pro sports, and really just across the line from SC. Of course I don't know what was already set up in, say Atlanta, available for the unique use for the conference. My immediate reaction was similar, but maybe, as suggested, it was about already established facilities and equipment, and this would be more immediately cost-effective rather than pursing a new city. Some in the SEC may be a little tired of so much being concentrated in Birmingham. Of course Atlanta has near everything available, but I would put the focus more on ESPN than the SEC itself. That said, if the SEC did decide to go to 16 or so in the future, NC would be the prime real estate; and it certainly doesn't hurt by having broadcasting media headquartered in NC's queen city.

I don't see the SEC ever expanding any further west. When Missouri and TAMU entered the conference, it tilted the balance so badly that Missouri was placed in the Eastern subdivision of the conference. If they add schools, I see them adding two in the east and moving Missouri into the western subdivision.

Like most of you, I think adding Virginia and North Carolina is much more likely than Florida State and Clemson. But either way, the SEC would need to overpower the new extremely high exit fees for leaving the ACC.

The article quoted the Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp who "attributed the success to the university's move from the Big XII to the Southeastern Conference and a government contract to develop vaccines in College Station."http://www.theeagle.com/news/local/arti ... 57abe.html

We've long speculated that the SEC would like to have certain ACC schools in their league and that the SEC but that in-state politics and the ACC GoR prevents that. We also have made the assumption that the SEC wants to keep the Big Ten out of their neighborhood. I think there is a way that the SEC could get around the GoR but it would require a major expansion, one that would radically alter the college football landscape and tip the balance of power heavily in the favor of the SEC:

To nullify the ACC GoR it would require a 2/3rds vote so 10 of the 15 schools. The way to get that vote is to take 10 schools. This may sound like complete crazy talk but think of what that would mean for the SEC--their organization of 24 schools would have a monopoly on college football throughout the entire southeastern US, the most cfb rabid region of the country. The SEC could demand a considerable price for their games and the SEC Network and a newly created SEC Network 2 would be must haves for every home. The SEC would be able to add the academically elite schools they have coveted (and the Big Ten covets as well) as well as the less academically prestigious ACC members who have an excellent football tradition.

The 10 to take would be:LouisvilleVirginiaVirginia TechNorth CarolinaNC StateDukeClemsonGeorgia TechFlorida StMiami

An expansion like this would force the Big Ten and Pac 12 to make expansions of their own. The Pac 12 likely grabs the Texhoma 4 after making some financial concessions to the Longhorns. The Big Ten might finally nab Notre Dame (unless they find a way to stay indy and play their other sports in the Catholic Big East) and perhaps the discarded Midwestern Big 12 members like Iowa St, Kansas, and Kansas St and/or the Northeastern ACC leftovers Pitt, 'Cuse, and BC or even steal Missouri away from the SEC (who replaces them with WVU).

24 is so large, it's hard to think of it as a conference.It would have to be arrangend into something like 4 pods, and there'd a lot of years where one SEC team didn't play teams form other divisions or pods.(we're starting to get there now in 14-team conferences).

There is nothing wrong with that, but at 24, the SEC almost becomes an umbrella organization and each pod or division becomes more like a conference(basically it's turning into something a bit like the NFL).

If this Division 4 takes off, I'm not sure the various conferences don't somehow merge their operations into having a single management umbrella (like the NFL).The conferneces aren't really such rivals any more. They all are united in a common effort to maximize the most important thing in college athletics - money.

But on a serious note. This could work and would solve a lot of logistical problems (like going to a 10 game conference schedule if everyones "rivals" are in the conference (Clemson, GT, FSU).

But based on the current rules, at 4 divisions of 6 (you would have to do rotating pods like the WAC) you end up breaking up lots a rivalries.

Also, one of the reasons the SEC didn't want schools already in SEC states is that they wanted to expand the brand to make it more national. By expanding that much you're either gross restricting/eliminating games like A&M/FL, or LSU/Tenn that people tune into see and making each section of the conference more regional which drive down the interest instead of building up (the Big 12 & PAC12 are the perfect examples of high quality/low national interest (mostly regional), which is why I'm a huge fan of Texas/OU and company joining the PAC16, because even though about half of the games will be the same, those once or twice a year game of UT/USC or OU/Stanford or OkSU/Oregon will really drive interest into the Texhoma schools as well as the rest of the PAC16 making it a win/win for everyone but AZ/ASU/CU/Utah).

_________________Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

tute and tkalmus you guys both see where I'm going with this. I had scheduling pods or subdivisions in mind when I came up with this. My thought was that the power conferences would share some sort of umbrella organization outside of the NCAA for football where there would be cooperation between the 3 major conferences (SEC, Pac 16/18, and Big Ten) My thought was that these schools would schedule exclusively within this group of 62ish teams.

For the SEC I would split the 24 schools into 2 conferences and 2 divisions within each conference--the east would contain the schools in VA, NC, SC, GA, and FL and the west would have the rest.

Still like I said above, other than FSU/Miami which bring tons of value (but not both) I think the SEC should avoid Lville, GT, Clemson, and adding more than 1 school in VA/NC (I get that taking Duke to get UNC, but if they don't have to...).

The SEC and Big Ten need more states, by just adding within its current footprint, the SEC ends up simply increasing regional audience and decreasing its national audience. While yes the UK/Lville, GT/UGA or SC/Clem games has some national appeal...GT/UF, Lville/Tenn, and Clem/Miss St just don't move the needle...therefor they'd get more people in the region to watch but less nationally.

The PAC12/B12 have been this way for years. Other than watching a national championship contender/top 5 team USC/Stanford/Oregon or Texas/OU/OSU/KSU/'08Tech the other games against non-top ranked teams gathers little national interest.

That's the reason why the SWC got picked apart, and the Big 12 w/o Mizzou, Nebraska, Colorado will be picked apart, and why the current PAC12 is considered 3rd (one could almost argue 4th) in the current conference configuration, and which is what makes the Texhoma 4 so appealing.

The SEC should look at trying for there next 2 by taking either UT/OU (KU if no UT) or UNC/UVA (if both go B1G then NCSU/VPI). No GT, No Clemson, No Louisville, Duke only if required for UNC, and FSU if they can't get anyone else.

_________________Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

...and why the current PAC12 is considered 3rd (one could almost argue 4th) in the current conference configuration, and which is what makes the Texhoma 4 so appealing.

Yeah, if given the ACC or PAC-12, and who would make the conference stronger in terms of "available" programs that are within or just beyond the current footprint, the PAC's really hurting. And yet, don't they thumb their nose at Oklahoma and OSU...ok, then.

The SEC, if they are to "swell," need to compete directly with the B1G and PAC for the "chaser" programs. In so many of these scenarios, I see the SEC getting no better than *maybe* OU, but it's usually OSU, KSU, and the TX leftovers. The SEC needs the OU-KU-UT trio just like the other two conferences. They need UNC-Duke-UVA in much the same way, and not necessarily NCST and VT as "consolation prizes."

Strangely, I think the ACC can only grow better wherever they go, should it be a school from a state not in the footprint. Be that WVU, Cincy, UConn, Navy (fb only), a Texas school, Tulane, etc...it puts them into a good recruiting territory or into a decent market.

I've said this repeatedly before, I wish they would all self-impose a maximum of 16 members each; not that all would seek to be 16. It's all driven by chasing TV dollars, and at what point is there settling? Maybe the idea is never to be really settled.Maybe I'm traditional and old-fashioned in this regard, but my concept of a 'conference' is for members to all play each other somewhat frequently and regular even with the divisions, and that would go beyond fb. The SEC has had recent gurmblings of how they have now set-up basketball with 14 members.

If the trend is toward having 'four (or just 3) organizational authorities' to comprise a new super-division of 20-plus members each, maybe that will be the result. It will also give new meaning as to what is really a conference.

Muskie's starter comments are not so far-fetched. Really, didn't the ACC basically absorb most of the stand-bearer members of the old all-sports BE?

Sec03 brings up a good point about the precedence set by the ACC and their absorbtion of the old Big East fb league.

Part of the problem the SEC faces is they want some of those new markets in ACC country--namely NC and VA but they also want to keep those valuable instate OCC rivalries like Florida vs Florida St. Those rivalry games lose a lot of their luster if you completely trash your opponent's conference through expansion. That's why I'm advocating bringing all those schools under one umbrella and making those marquee match ups league games. Through scheduling pods you can easily preserve all do the really important rivalry games. Or maybe instead of pods each school has a set number of permanent rivals; way back when before the advent of the 8 game conference schedule each SEC team played 2 permanent rivals annually and the Big Ten did the same thing up until the addition of Nebraska.

I've said this repeatedly before, I wish they would all self-impose a maximum of 16 members each; not that all would seek to be 16. It's all driven by chasing TV dollars, and at what point is there settling? Maybe the idea is never to be really settled.Maybe I'm traditional and old-fashioned in this regard, but my concept of a 'conference' is for members to all play each other somewhat frequently and regular even with the divisions, and that would go beyond fb. The SEC has had recent gurmblings of how they have now set-up basketball with 14 members.

If the trend is toward having 'four (or just 3) organizational authorities' to comprise a new super-division of 20-plus members each, maybe that will be the result. It will also give new meaning as to what is really a conference.

Muskie's starter comments are not so far-fetched. Really, didn't the ACC basically absorb most of the stand-bearer members of the old all-sports BE?

Take a large enough group of 'em, and the breakage rolls.

I think eventually the term "conference" will be more like it is in the NBA with the Eastern and Western Conferences, and the divisions will be pods also somewhat like the NBA.

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